Regaining Forever
by ELR
Summary: Losing someone you didn't even know you love is a kind of pain so deep she didn't even know it was possible.
1. Break Me Down

**Authors Notes: **As some of you may know, I went for brain surgery last year, to try and ease the body tremors I have, because of my illness. The tremors were the reason the fic I wrote was all mainly oneshots, because it was really difficult to type. And then I had this op. Now, while it hasn't cured me all the way, it's certainly calmed them down enough so I can actually type properly.

I wanted to celebrate this by writing a longer fic, and I was trolling through the files on my computer. Ah ha! Found it. I started writing a fic well over a decade ago, called Fleeting. I never finished it. I had my project. So I've spent the last [thinks] six months re-writing what I already had and actually finishing it.

Now all I have to do is post it and my celebration's complete. I hope you enjoy it. I'll be posting a part a week, happy reading and reviews are greatly appreciated.

Also Tara died in s5, Willow didn't go dark, and Faith never went evil.

_Now (Buffy)_

"You know, you'd think that after being gone for so long, you'd be more aware of others." Your voice makes her jump as she comes into the room, dropping her jacket as she bangs into the back of the other arm chair.

"Jesus Christ B. You scared the shit outta me." You don't respond, just look at her and after a minute she frowns at you, wondering why you're not speaking. "I'm a big girl y'know, you don't have to wait up 'til I get in."

You chuckle in the back of your throat, but nothing about it's filled with humour.

"I lost you for more than a year, I don't think worrying about my best friend 'cause it's three in the morning, when she said she'd be back for twelve, at the latest, is too strange of a concept." She sighs as she bends over to pick up her jacket. You've had this talk before, but she just can't seem to grasp your fear. She doesn't understand it, when really it's so goddamn simple.

She was dead for more than a year. She came back. You're terrified of losing her again. Worse; of not knowing you'd lost her until you got that freezing cold, empty feeling inside again. The cold that comes from the absence of feeling her.

"B.."

"This should be the easiest thing in the world for you to understand Faith, but I guess you need a deeper reason." You settle back in your seat a bit and look her dead in the eye, making damn sure she sees you with all your walls down. "I wasn't living when you were gone. I was just existing. I did my job, I did the slaying, but I was just doing what had to be done. I didn't get it at first. I mean yeah, I've lost people, but I could always carry on, get past it, continue living. But with you? I felt like this huge part of me was gone, and the rest of me didn't know what the hell to do without it. It took me a while to figure out why, and when I did I cried for three days."

"What're you telling me B?"

"That I'm in love with you." Shocked silence washes over the room while you let that sink in, before you start talking again. "I'm not telling you for any reason other than why I get so scared when you don't come home when you say you will. And now you know, so feel free to forget I said that."

Faith was across the room in three strides, her jacket carelessly tossed on to the sofa, as she knelt between your legs. She cupped the side of your neck and gently tugged you forward. "The fuck I will, 'cause now I can stop pretending that I'm not crazy in love with you too."

And then she kisses you.

You forget to breathe for a second, until you feel her tongue brush your bottom lip, then you open your mouth and gasp at the sensation of her tongue gently caressing your own.

She reluctantly pulls away , breathing heavily as she speaks, her fingers caressing the skin just under your ear. "Dawn could wake up." You clear your throat, running a hand through her hair as you look into her eyes.

"Right. We can continue this tomorrow." God you hope she wants to continue this now, in the privacy of a bedroom.

"Whoa there. Slow your roll. I might be responsible but I ain't stupid." Oh thank god.

You give her your naughty little half smile. "Your room or mine?"

She returns your naughty smile with one of her own. "Yours."


	2. The End Of Forever

**Regaining Forever**

**Rating:** NC-17

**Pairing:** Fuffy

**Authors Notes:** It's just typical that goes down just as I start posting this n *really* want some fb. So please please please review, I really wanna know what ppl think.

_Then (Buffy)_

It felt like the entire world was shaking. And then you looked into her eyes. It was like a volcano and a tornado hit you in the chest all at once. You knew that look, you'd seen it before. Just before she went to torment the mayor snake so he'd follow her into the school and the trap that was waiting for him.

It was the look of knowing you might not see another tomorrow. Of knowing you were going to sacrifice yourself in the hope that everyone else would live.

"Faith no.." she just grabbed your arms.

"Dawn was made from slayer blood. Just so happens we've got two here, and lil sis needs you, not me." She leant forward and placed a soft kiss on your cheek. "Give everyone a hug for me."

And then she ran.

Off the end of the platform to slam into that portal, not even giving you the chance to stop her. You staggered to the end of the platform, dropping to your knees as you watched her wreath in pain.

And then it was over. The portal closed and a second later you heard her body smash into the ground.

Willow found out later that it wasn't being in that portal that killed her. It was the concussive force with which she smashed into the ground. Every bone in her body was broken from the fall. But because it was the fall that killed her, and not the portal, it was a natural death. Willow couldn't bring her back.

She could bring something else back. Something that looked like Faith, but it would be dark and unnatural.

In the nights that followed, you dreamt of her. Of how she looked so like a beautiful raven, suspended in the eye of that storm. Of the thousand ways you'd save her. Of moving just that little bit faster, of being that little bit stronger. And every morning you'd wake up only to lose her all over again.

And it never got any better. The pain was like a constant companion; it followed you where ever you went.

The day she came back to you was one you'll remember forever, because she curled into your arms and held on like she'd never let go. And for that single moment, she was yours.


	3. To Take

**Chapter Three: To Take**

_Now (Buffy)_

You remember watching her in the eye of that storm. You remember thinking she looked so like a raven, but you didn't think you'd said it out loud. But as you take off her shirt and walk around to her back, trailing your fingers over her skin as you go, you know you did. And despite the pain she was in she must have heard you.

Because spread out over her shoulder blades is a tattoo you've never seen before. Black and grey wings unfurled the entire width of her back, and two words, done in a flowing script, just below; The Raven.

The sight causes you to smile and grimace all at once as you trail your fingers over the design. Smile because she's right here, grimace because of the memory of her being gone curls at the edges of your mind. She's not just **the** raven anymore, now she's yours.

"I didn't think I'd said that out loud." She turns to look at you, her skin glimmering in the moonlight coming in through the window. She cups your cheek, her thumb brushing over your skin as she gives you a lob sided smile

"Last thing I heard." you don't waste anymore time. You press against her, grabbing her lips in a fierce kiss and walk her backwards. She bumps into your desk and the minute you stop walking you yank open the buttons of her jeans and take hold of the waist band of them and her underwear.

As you start to pull them down she lifts herself up by the edge of the desk. Pulling herself out of them as you pull her clothes off.

And then she's naked. You've never seen a more beautiful sight in your life, it actually makes your breath catch.

But she has very little to no patience left. She pulls you into a kiss that's so heated it makes a flush of warmth blossom over your chest.

When the kiss breaks you don't waste any more time, you lean down and wrap your lips around one of her nipples. She leans back on one of her hands and cups the side of your neck with the other, panting, as you alternate between her breasts.

You can actually _smell_ how turned on she is and it's making a soft growl rumble through your chest. You slide your hands down her thighs and under her knees, pulling them up until her heels are braced on the edge of the desk. You don't want any awkward angles and you don't want her to think you're gonna tease her for hours. You want her aware of exactly what you're doing.

Without taking a pause for thought you move your hand in between her legs, cupping her and groaning low in your throat when you feel exactly how wet she is.

You don't spend a few minutes getting the lay of the land, so to speak, you don't start off with her clit, you go for broke because your patience ran out the moment you felt her scorching your palm. You slide your fingers inside of her, getting lost in the feeling of being surround by her.

But not so lost you took your eyes off her for even a second. She watched as you pushed your fingers inside of her. She moaned at both the completely erotic sight of it and at the feel of it. Her hips lifted and started to thrust in time with the pace you set.

And you know for a fact you were wrong before. Her naked and laid bare for you isn't the most beautiful thing you've ever seen; this is. Her eyes trained down her body, watching in rapt awe as you fuck her, her mouth open as she gasps and pants and moans for you, her hips involuntarily thrusting against your hand as you move. All of it. The most beautiful thing you've ever seen.

And then you feel it. Her inner muscles starting to tighten around your fingers. Her panting breath starting to blow out so hard it hits your forearm. And when the pulsing starts around your fingers you know you were wrong again.

Her eyes roll up into her head as it drops backwards, her mouth drops open in a silent scream, her back arches as her hips start to flutter against your hand. It's like an earthquake. But on the inside.

Now **that** was the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.


	4. Bitter Oblivion

**Chapter Four: Bitter Oblivion **

_Then (Faith)_

The first time you wake up you're pretty sure you should be dead. Especially with the level of agony lancing through your body with every breath. When you decide to try and figure out what was causing you the pain is when you felt it; a tugging sensation at the back of your mind. The slayer letting you know that wasn't allowed just yet, and then you fell back into darkness.

The second time you woke up was when you decided to be a good girl. Obviously your slayer was letting you wake up, but you were too hurt to know exactly **what** was hurt. Fine by you. You didn't really have the burning desire to know what was broken to the extent of your slayer taking over to heal you anyway. You felt the edges of consciousness start to blur and figured you'd been awake long enough.

The third time you woke up was when the first thing to greet you wasn't the pain. It was still there, only less so. Where you didn't feel as if there was glass in your lungs, stabbing you every time you breathed. No, the first thing you noticed was the smell of burning. You're pretty sure it'd make your eyes water if you could open them. So you didn't bother trying.

The forth time you woke up was apparently the charm. The pain was just an after thought in your mind and you could actually open your eyes this time. To find yourself in the apartment you share with Buffy and Dawn. _What the hell?_

You're pretty sure death shouldn't look like this. And then a demon popped in beside you and made your entire body clench as you jumped. Oh that was a mistake. A moan escapes your lips and you shut your eyes again. Jesus. You knew there was still pain there but not this much.

"Christ I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd be awake yet."

You didn't even bother attempting to talk. Hopefully he could read minds.

"_Where am I?"_

"Erm.." _score!_ "that would be hell."

"_Hell?"_

"One of many. And don't act so surprised, you jumped into a portal to a hell dimension."

"_My body didn' land, expect some visitors."_

"It did. You were dead. They buried you. It takes a couple of weeks for you to be transported here, body and all. If they opened that casket now they'd find it empty."

"_And what? I get to stay in hell forever?"_

"No. Luckily for you all hell dimensions are linked to the hellmouth in Sunnydale. I can show you where it is so you can climb out, but you're gonna have to fight your way there."

"_Fantastic. Gotta finish healin' first."_

"Good plan."

Your vision starts to blur around the edges. _"Gonna pass out again now."_

"I'll see you when you next wake up." And then your slayer snatches you back into the darkness.


	5. To Have

**Chapter Five: To Have**

_Now (Buffy)_

You don't even remember how you ended up in this position. You're led face down on the bed and Faith's hovering over you, one hand supporting her while the other's taking the time to get to know every dip and curve of your body. You might not have been in the mood to tease her but the same can't be said for her, now you're the one under her control.

You let out a pleading moan as you bring your hand up to wrap around the wrist that's supporting her weight. And that moan seems to snap whatever's left of her patience. Because her hand slips down your back, over the curve of your ass, until her fingertips brush against the burning wetness of you.

You suck in a deep breath as her fingertips make first contact with your clit and you roll your hips into her hand, hoping to god this isn't just a form of beautiful torture.

It's not.

She immediately presses her fingers against you more firmly and starts a flickering pulse over it. You're pretty sure this should be illegal to know, it feels that good.

Every single inch of you's tingling, where her fingers are touching you seem to be burning you, but in a good way. You feel a flutter in your stomach and briefly think that damn you popped off fast, before every thought you have gets stripped away.

The edges of the world blur, that burning sensation races over your entire body, your hips are thrusting against her hand, and you're pretty sure you screamed at the release of pressure.

But your body doesn't really relax. It gets more tense if anything. You're not done yet, but you're too breathless to ask for more. Good job she seems to have developed telepathy.

Her fingers slide through your wetness and without even pausing she thrusts two fingers inside of you, as deep as they'll go.

Holy fuck.

She doesn't waste any time now she's there, she immediately starts to draw her fingers out, almost all the way, before slamming them back into you. It's so hard in fact that within minutes you can feel that bubble of pleasure start to build in your stomach.

She leans down to whisper in your ear. "Come for me." It's just a whisper but you felt those words all the way down to the souls of your feet, giving that little bubble of pleasure a hard shove.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck." The words are barely there as they come from your mouth. And then that bubble bursts. Drowning you in a kind of pleasure you used to think couldn't possibly be real. Every single inch of skin you have is tingling, your heart is pounding and your center's throbbing around her fingers.

But she doesn't take them out of you yet. She slowly lowers her body down to rest on yours, her lips taking the time to kiss and nibble the skin of your neck and shoulder.

She can stay there as long as she likes.


	6. Waking Up To Hell

**Chapter Six: Waking Up To Hell**

_Then (Faith)_

"Faith? Faaaith." The sing song voice is what pulls you out of the darkness and you sigh in relief as not even a gentle background throb of distant pain greets you. When you open your eyes the demon's there again, just waiting for you to wake up.

"I don't even know your name." your voice is the lowest it's ever been and it's scratchy and dry. Damn you need a drink.

"Oh right. I'm Skip. I work for the powers and boy are they pissed."

"That I killed myself to save everyone else?" very slowly you start to tense your muscles, hoping you don't get dragged unconscious again. Luckily you don't so you slowly start to sit up.

"What? No no, not that. You're a champion, and the rules are that if you die saving the world, you get sent to your final resting place. The guys that run this place didn't follow the rules so, here you are." You flex your back and stretch out your arms, taking a deep breath in. You grimace as you come out of the stretch. Hell huh? Explained the burning smell.

"Great. So I'm in hell."

"On the plus side the powers worked it that this right here?" he gestures to the apartment around you. "Is your safe place. As long as you're here, the demons that live here don't know where you are."

Well at least you've got somewhere safe to get yourself ready. You nod to Skip as you stand and start to look around.

It was really weird to walk around, see everything the way it's always been since the three of you moved into that apartment, and know it was just a copy. To know that the things here weren't the originals and only duplicates.

When you've taken everything in you turn back to Skip and send him a predatory smile.

"When you kill something that's already in hell, where does it go?"


	7. Inked Memory

**Chapter Seven: Inked Memory**

_Then (Buffy)_

"I'm pretty sure you've got a screw loose." Willow says as she sits next to the massage bed, clutching your t-shirt to her chest and looking paler than usual.

"You didn't have to come Will." You're sitting on the massage table while the guy's getting set up and ready.

"I know. But someone had to remind you of your insanity and Xander faints at the sight of needles."

"You ready?" the guys voice is gruff and tinged with a little impatience. He must get a lot of friends in here claiming the person sat on the massage table was insane.

You nod before you lie face down and take in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. You're ready for this. To permanently remember one of your best friends.

The buzz of the tattoo gun fills the room and Willows hand grips on to your shoulder.

You hope the pain to come's enough to distract you from the pain inside.

When you exit the tattoo studio the small of your back is humming with a low burn that makes you clench your teeth together. It didn't really distract from the burning pain in your chest, but that wasn't really the purpose of this outing.

The purpose is now etched into your skin forever, just like the memory of her's etched into your mind.

It took you weeks to design. A black and grey raven, wings unfurled as it flies through swirling grey.

You got the tattoo Ethan gave you removed because that was forced upon you. If it was gonna be on you forever you wanted the choice of what it would be. But you'd never really thought of having a tattoo before because you didn't have a specific reason for getting one.

Remembering a lost friend is the best reason you know of.


	8. The Burn You Crave

**Chapter Eight: The Burn You Crave**

_Now (Buffy)_

Morning's arrived but you've not left your room. The burning heat between you and Faith has cooled some, so now it's just a blanket of warmth that covers you instead of that burn.

You're softly exploring each other, laying kisses and nibbles whenever either of you find a sensitive spot. You don't think you've ever had it where the end result wasn't the goal. Where it's about exploring everything on offer to you until neither of you can take not touching the other until they call out in pleasure for you.

And it seems she's reached the end of her rope, because her hand roams down your body and it doesn't stop.

Her fingers push between your legs and part your flesh, causing you to throw your head back and moan. She so slowly and softly slides into you and a distant part of your brain dimly registers how gentle she's being and how you never thought she could be.

When you bring your head back down and open your eyes a small part of you's startled by what you see.

Those chocolate brown eyes you love so much have darkened to black and there are shimmers of color racing beneath her skin. When you lift your hand to trace where a flash of color just was on her neck, you're startled for a moment to see the same flashes of color under your own skin. You briefly wonder what color your eyes have changed to, but it's a thought that's dismissed immediately.

You've got better things to focus on.

Her thrusting more forcefully into you brings you back to the moment and you think how it's not fair that she gets to touch you so intimately, until you realise you don't have to take turns.

You sit up, taking her with you until she's straddling your lap. She gives you a slightly confused look because moving like you did pulled her from inside you and now she can't reach.

"You'll just have to make do with what you can reach." You don't think you've ever heard your voice so husky before. It sends a shiver down her spine and she gives you a little half smile before she presses down on your clit.

"Like there?"

It makes your eyes roll up at the sudden shock of pleasure. You respond by sliding your fingers inside of her and smirking as her head drops backwards and she moans for you.

This might not be as fast as your first moments together, it might not be as heated, but the pace you set up is anything but gentle and slow. And she might only be able to reach your clit but that doesn't mean she's not gonna be as fast with you as you're being with her.

You can feel it starting to build inside, but it's only a secondary thing. Because you can feel something else too. Something huge and looming and filling you up. It's like something forgotten that's trying to break through and you know, if you don't hold on tight when it hits, you're gonna be knocked clean over.

She must have been thinking the same thing because as your arm tightens around her waist, hers does around your shoulders.

And when it hits, you know you were right. Every single muscle in your body tenses and it's not so much as you're emptying with the release, as you're an empty glass that's being filled. With what, you don't know but it doesn't feel strange. More like something that should've always been there but it fell to the way side a long while ago. Like forgotten power.

When you've both calmed down you realise you're not the only ones in the room anymore. Willow's got a shielding barrier erected around the bed and her eyes are white with the power she's having to use. It takes her a minute to realise you're both looking at her in confusion.

"Next time you invoke enough power to raise a small island from the ocean, a warning would be nice."

Oops.


	9. Eighteen In

**Chapter Nine: Eighteen In**

_Then (Faith)_

You're grinding your teeth together at the pain. You're pretty sure Skip's saying something to you but all you're focused on is the knife currently sticking out of your side. You grip the handle and take a deep breath, bracing yourself for what's to come.

In one swift motion you yank the blade out, yelping at the pain and pressing down on the wound to slow the bleeding. You know your slayer will take care of it in a minute, all you need to do until then is breathe.

"Are you even listening to me?" Skips voice breaks through to you and you grunt at him before you answer.

"Kinda concentratin' on this stab wound right now bud. Might wanna **not** tell me I'm an idiot again though." You narrow your eyes at him and let him know that even though you weren't paying attention you heard him.

"Well you walked into a group of twenty demons Faith."

"Still breathin' ain't I?" you're not gonna let him know you agree with him, but then, you didn't think there were that many in that courtyard to begin with. Of course, the only way around it was down a rather crowded street so you're pretty sure that was the best way through. Besides, you got off easy.

You've been moving for about eighteen hours now, cutting demons down as you come across them and making your way to the black gates. Not only are there god knows how many demons between you and the exit, but there are also some big ass gates you're gonna have to climb over.

You were in your place of safety, doing some sparring with Skip when you decided it was time to go, that you couldn't train forever and the longer you were gone was longer the people you left behind would think you were dead.

So here you are. Crouched down in a dark alley, a scary looking demon beside you, pressing down on your side and hoping your slayer hurries up and stops the worst of the blood flow soon so you can keep moving.

Damn you can't wait til you get home.


	10. A Moment Of Clarity

**Chapter Ten: A Moment Of Clarity**

_Then (Buffy)_

You're absolutely positive that at three in the morning you should be asleep, instead of sitting on one of the cliffs that surround the town, watching it through the dark.

You don't want to sleep. If you sleep, for those few hours you'll forget that she's gone. For those few hours everything'll be all right with the world. But then you'll wake up. And you'll remember the pain, remember why it's there, and remember that you'll never see her again.

You've been trying to figure out why this is so hard. When your mom died you thought you'd never get over the hurt. But looking back on it , you where always aware that at some point it **would** get better. Maybe you'd hurt for years but at some point in time the pain would blur and become drowsy, and you'd be able to remember your mom and smile.

But this time.. this time you feel as if some part of you's gonna be in pain forever. Not the drowsy kind but the kind that's sharp, the kind that cuts you every time you breathe.

You've been trying to figure out why. Yeah she was your best friend, but surely you can get past this?

There's a twinge of pain in your temple so you stop thinking so hard for a few minutes. And then the memories start washing through you.

You winning a game of billiards and thinking the pout on Faith's face is adorable. The typical high five after a slay and how every time you marvel at how soft her hands are. That twinkle in her eyes that appears just before she says something naughty to make you blush. How she smiles in that special little way, whenever you've said something that can be turned into something so dirty so easily.

The memories wash through you like the tide and you let them. You enjoy them as they come but the smile they cause is bittersweet. Because you'll never experience any of those things again.

And then it hits you. All at once and takes your breath away. Because you've felt something like this before. It wasn't as strong but you felt like this with Angel. When he was dead you felt like a part of you died too. This isn't the same, this is actually stronger. You don't feel like a part of you's missing, you feel like half of you is.

Understanding floods you. Every memory you have of her is tinged in pain. Pain you now realise is coming from your heart.

You're in love with your best friend. And you only realised it when she was dead and you could do nothing about it.

You barely made it home because your vision was so blurred by tears.


	11. If I Should Fall

**Chapter Eleven: If I Should Fall**

_Then (Faith)_

You're currently crouched down behind a wall, listening to the demons on the other side. Because of the trail of blood and bodies you've left in your wake they've figured out you're on the move.

Pity, you were hoping they wouldn't figure that out for a while, but regardless. You need to figure out a way to press forwards, preferably a way that's as much out of sight as you can get with a seven foot tall demon with you.

"Hey Skip, how far can you jump?" he's about to ask you why when he looks at you and sees your eyes trained on the rooftops. You wanna know if the spaces between the buildings are too far for him. He gives you a grin.

"A lot further than you'd guess."

"Up an' at'tem then big guy."

"I thought you wanted to come up here so we'd get to the gates faster." He sounds frustrated, but you're not paying too much attention.

"Your point?"

"I didn't think it'd be an excuse to use your bow." You shrug as you dip below the wall surrounding the roof top. It's probably a bad idea to shoot the demons who're looking for you, but your slayer's going a little nutty inside because you're sneaking around them instead of killing them.

Slayer chick's too stupid to realise you can't win against this many demons, but there's only so long you can ignore her. She is, after all, the reason you've got this power in the first place.

"Had to calm the slayer inside down, or she'd go nuts when there's no hope of escape." He nods his understanding as you place your bow back over your chest. "Which I've done now so you ready to motor?" He just smiles at you and nods his head. You start crawling away from the wall, heading in the opposite direction, knowing he'll follow you.

You've been dodging the demons for 24 hours now, but the slayer's keeping you pumped full of adrenaline so you're not anywhere near tired.

You hope it lasts because you can see the gates in the distance now so you don't wanna fall when you can see the finish line. That'd suck.


	12. Something Deep Inside

**Chapter Twelve: Something Deep Inside**

_Now (Buffy)_

You have to say, you should probably feel a little weird about having an orgasm, and being naked, in front of one of your best friends. Actually, you're pretty sure that an hour or so ago you would've, but whatever you invoked seems to have knocked the modesty right out of you. Because now you just don't seem to care.

When the power had dissipated and everything had calmed down some, Willow blushed redder than her hair, mumbled something about talking when you were clothed and practically ran from the room.

You spent a good five minutes laughing before you gathered yourselves enough to get dressed. You're all sat in the living room with cups of coffee and Willow's only just gone back to her normal colour.

"Ok Will, what the hell was all that?" Faith smirks as a naughty thought obviously crosses her mind at your words. "Perv. I know what **that** was, I meant the power. Or are you forgetting all the lovely colours that were running under our skin?" she looks chastised and you both turn to Willow for an explanation.

She's gotten a whole hell of a lot better with the magics over the last year, because she had to. You both asked her to delve into the whole slayer mythos, to find out what makes the thing inside chosen. To do that she had to magically see the slayer line, and when she did that it linked her to it.

She now understood more about the slayer than the watchers council ever did.

"That, was the Awakening." The… what? You give her a confused look. "Remember I found that book filled with slayer prophecies?" she got so excited when she found it. It actually prophesised that the line would split and 'two shall fight', when you died and Faith was called because of it. Apparently there was nothing in that book that didn't happen. "The Awakening is one of them."

"Which is what exactly Red?"

"Ok, the first slayer. She was basically so in touch with the power she was practically feral. Over the centuries that primeval power's been buried under all the civilisation. The Awakening's something that happens to the line, where that power's woken up again."

"But we ain't feral."

"That's because there's civility to merge with the power, there wasn't before." She looks pretty excited about this. "Before, the first slayer was nothing more than an animal. Her mind didn't know how to cope with the power. Yours do."

"And this means what Will?"

"It means that you've become the embodiment of the slayer. A perfect predator." You share a look with Faith and that's when you notice her eyes are changing color, from brown to black.

"Emerald green." You didn't even need to ask her, she knew what you were thinking. "So bright they burn." Her voice has gotten lower in register, deeper, curling in the bottom of your stomach. And your eyes have zeroed in on her. She's the only thing in the room that you're aware of.

It's like you're the hunter, she's your pray. Something primal that's stirring in you, that's telling you to claim her, to mark her, to let everyone who looks at her know that she's yours.

Your eyes flicker over towards Willow, who gives you a smile as she stands up. "You look hungry. And not for food. I'll meet up with Dawn and take her to lunch." You don't reply, just look back to Faith. She looks about ready to devour you.

She licks her lips as she looks you over from head to toe. You're gonna let her do exactly that.


	13. And If I Should Fail

**Chapter Thirteen: And If I Should Fail**

_Then (Faith)_

You take a few deep breaths in, swallowing deeply as the pain races up your throat in a hot wash of vomit.

"You ready?" Skip's kneeling next to you, holding your wrist and bicep and looking at you with an expression somewhere between guilt and determination on his face.

You wish you had the words to tell him this wasn't his fault, but the pain you're in would make the truth come out in a rancid wash of rage. It _is_ his fault. But there's nothing that can be done about it now.

He walked blindly around a corner and you weren't quick enough to stop him. How was he to know there'd be a little over a dozen demons in that alley? He didn't have super sensitive hearing so he couldn't hear them all as they walked forwards.

You were just a blur as you moved; kicking, punching, stabbing, and not even noticing when you got hurt as you went. Bruises blossomed over your skin, your flesh parted with every knife slice. You didn't even notice.

You did notice, however, when your shoulder got violently yanked out of joint. You remember screaming at the pain, but you didn't – not for a single instant – stop your whirlwind of violence as it swept through the alley.

When it was over you dropped to one knee and threw up at the pain. This wasn't like the last time you dislocated your shoulder. It felt like the joint had twisted as it came out of it's socket, and you're pretty sure that if you weren't in the middle of a maelstrom of violence, if your life and freedom didn't depend on you controlling the pain, you would have been blinded.

The demons are getting desperate now; you're almost at the gates, almost beyond their reach. Because when you're on the other side of those gates is the moment they loose the right to chase you and try to stop you.

With a swift yanking and twisting motion Skip pops your joint back into place. You bite into your other wrist to stifle your pain sounds, and it certainly muffled them a whole lot, but as the taste of fresh blood bursts across your tongue you grimace and pull your wrist away. As if you didn't have enough damage without adding to it.

"Tell me we're close. Like, **really** close." He gives you a half smile as he sits down next to you.

"We've got one more main street to go and a few residential ones, then we're at the gates."

"Thank fuck for that." You pull a water bottle off your belt and take a long drink before handing it over to Skip. You'll just take a few minutes before getting back to it. From what Skip's told you, you've got one hell of a climb once you've over that gate.


	14. I Break

**Chapter Fourteen: I Break**

_Then (Buffy)_

You're pretty sure your friends are gonna do an intervention soon. You're currently led in bed, doing nothing but stare at the wall, and you don't even care that there are silent tears rolling over your face and soaking the pillow you've got you head on.

You've been like this for the last three days, ever since you realised exactly why Faiths death was hurting you so deeply. Ever since you realised you were in love with her. Ever since you realised there was nothing you could do about it now.

The door slowly creaks open and Willows head looks around it, making sure you're there before coming fully into the room. She doesn't ask permission because she knows what you'll say. This isn't about what you want, this is about your friends intervening on your self destructive behaviour.

She sits down next to you and brushes away a tear with her knuckles. You don't know why because the ones she caught are instantly replaced by more.

"It's been ten months Buffy." You don't say anything, you know exactly how long it's been, down to the hour. Ten months, two weeks, three days and fourteen hours. You have an internal clock that you're sure isn't ever gonna stop ticking.

"I know how long it's been Will." Your voice is hoarse and scratchy from disuse and tears.

"Don't you think it's time?" you look at her, knowing what she's gonna say next but being unable to stop it from coming. "Don't you think it's time to move on?"

You sit up, sniffing as you push your hair back and look directly into her eyes. "How long did it take you to move on from Tara?"

"There's a part of me that's still not over her. It's a part that'll never move on."

"I know what you mean." She opens her mouth to say something when she looks into your eyes. And in an instant she gets it. There's gonna be a part of you that's never gonna get over Faith, that you don't want it too, and exactly why that part of you is gonna stay frozen.

"Oh."

"Yeah. Oh."

"When did you..?"

"Three days ago." She nods with her mouth in an 'o' shape. It's starting to slot into place for her, just like it did for you. How you always managed to touch Faith in some way, how you'd always spend most of your free time with her and how you acted around her.

That's when you see it in her eyes. She was upset before because she couldn't bring Faith back, but now.. now she's absolutely devastated for you. Because she might not have experienced it, but being in love with someone you can never have, has to be so much worse than losing someone you've been able to love. It's an absence of that feeling of joy, an emptying out that leaves you almost hollow in all the important ways.

She now understands why you've not left your room for three days, she understands why you've refused to see anyone. Because your soul's been stripped bare and you're trying to figure out how to live with it.

Without a word she shuffles around so you can lay your head in her lap. She doesn't try to convince you to leave again, she just strokes your hair. This is one of those rare occasions where she doesn't have to understand, she just has to know.

She can't try to give you any comfort if she doesn't.


	15. Just For You

**Chapter Fifteen: Just For You**

_Now (Buffy)_

You've never realised you could make love up against the back of your bedroom door before. You never realised that making love could be fast and hard before either.

But that's exactly what's happening right now.

Faith has you pressed up against the door, your legs wrapped tightly around her waist. She didn't even get you fully undressed. Your pants are down around one of your ankles, your top is ripped down the front and pushed to each side, and you're pretty sure your underwear's that scrap of rags on the other side of the room.

But despite the furious and frantic motions that led to the disarray you're in right now, every time she touches you, you can feel it. Every nip of her teeth, every pulse of her hands over your skin, there's this under lying current of emotion that vibrates against you.

A hiss escapes your lips as her teeth scrape into the skin of your neck and her lips suck at it. You're not the only one that had that primal urge to mark what's yours. And with everyone else you've ever been with, you've never let them linger on your neck too long, despite how good it felt. You think it's maybe a slayer thing, not letting anyone linger in that place of weakness, but with Faith it's like you never want her to leave.

As her teeth bite into you your hips thrust against her stomach, which is bare because you ripped off her top the moment the door closed. When you make contact into her skin you groan low in your throat, at the feel of how wet you are against her. She responds to your motion by pressing her stomach more firmly into you and biting down harder.

"Fuck Buffy." Her words mumble against your skin but you can hear them just fine.

"Ung. Please." You're not beyond begging at this point, if it gets her to touch you.

And she does. Slides her hand between your bodies and pushes it between your legs, pushing her fingers down further, finding your entrance with unerring precision, and then stopping.

"Look at me." You flicker open your eyes and fall straight into hers. Groaning at the level of passion that's burning in them for you. "Tell me." Do you think that opening the slayer line inside you made you able to just **know** what she wants? Because she doesn't have to explain, you just know, like you can actually see the explanation in front of you.

"I'm yours." That's it. Just two words, and she thrusts into you so deeply, you swear you can feel her tickling the bottom of your stomach.

Your head falls backwards and your back arches so far it's not even touching the door anymore. And the sound that gets pulled out of you. A guttural moan, backed by a deep and trembling groan, that makes her shiver against you in pleasure.

She waits for you to settle back against the door before she starts moving. A rhythm that's deep and fast, and hitting your g-spot on every thrust. That's making your legs flex and twitch around her waist with the pleasure that's jerking through you.

You've never really been that vocal during sex, up until the point of climax, but right now you're very glad no one's around to hear you. It's a long series of moans, and groans, and pants, and whimpers, and she's causing every noise that's being pulled out of you. You can feel it starting to build in the bottom of your stomach, but when you open your eyes and look into hers, you feel a spark of naughty evil ignite in your belly.

You don't just want her to be getting pleasure from giving it to you, you want her to feel it. You want her to feel you.

You slide your own hand between your legs, pushing it between her hand and your body, and you start a flickering pulse over your clit. And you know she can feel every move you make against the palm of her hand because she moans low in her throat and starts to thrust inside of you harder.

Fuck. Shit. Jesus. Pleasure so intense it borders on pain starts to spark through you, spreading out into every single inch of you, making your skin tingle and your feet feel numb. But you don't stop moving your fingers, so neither does she.

You're not done yet, so fuck if you're gonna give her a reason to stop.


	16. Up And Over

**Chapter Sixteen: Up And Over**

_Then (Faith)_

It feels like the burning fires of hell are licking at your boot heels as you move. You're scrambling upwards, over the gates, and there are god knows how many demons following you, desperate in their attempts to catch you, because you're nearly out of their react.

You have absolutely no idea how you're finding your next hand and foot holds because you're moving so damn fast. It's probably the slayer giving you a hand, knowing you'd probably fail if it didn't.

Skip said he'd meet you on the other side and it feels really weird, him not being by your side. Because he hasn't left it in 36 hours and it feels as if something vitally important has disappeared.

You get to the very top of the gate and sit on it for a second, but only a second, before you start down the other side in a rush. Because as long as you're still on that gate, you're still in the demons territory and they can still catch you.

You glance up and the demons seem to pore over the top of the gate in a thick wash of brown and black skin, and far too many limbs and eyes and mouths. The demons here are nothing like the ones back home. They are only vaguely humanoid, and every single one of them has at least one extra limb. Some have extra eyes or mouths, some even have entire beings trapped inside their flesh. But all of them are made of stronger, harder stuff. It takes more force to push a blade into their flesh, it takes more to kill them.

When you're only ten feet from the ground you simply let go, landing in a crouch and looking up at the demons as the noise starts. Screeching, bellowing rage sounds, some wet and slimy as they shiver down your spine, all of them are the sounds that terror makes, all of them filled with a rage that runs right through them. You're out of their reach now, there's nothing more they can do.

You stand up, breathing deeply and watching as the demons turn around and start back the way they came. Skip comes up next to you, watching as the demons retreat. He's saying something to you but all you can hear is your heart pounding in your chest.

And suddenly the last 36 hours of fighting and horror catch up to you.

"Skip," you interrupt whatever he's saying and look him dead in the eyes. "Catch me."

He looks extremely confused. "What?"

"I'm about to run out of steam." And then you collapse into his arms.


	17. Watch Her As She Falls

**Chapter Seventeen: Watch Her As She Falls**

_Now (Buffy)_

You'd both gotten thirsty so you'd gone into the kitchen to get drinks. But here's the thing about wanting someone this much; when the wanting hits you, you don't care where you are. As long as you're alone it doesn't matter even a little bit.

She reached up into a cupboard and the neckline of her robe gaped, showing you a tantalising amount of skin and breast. You hadn't given her a chance to even close the cupboard door, you were pressed into her back in an instant and her robe was in a fallen puddle on the floor in the next .

There was no teasing, no caressing, no kissing, just the burn inside for you to take her. Which is exactly what you do; push your fingers inside of her, hard. You actually let out a feral growl at the feeling of her wrapped around your fingers, and she moaned in the back of her throat at the feel of you inside.

You brought your other hand up to the back of her neck and pushed her down onto the counter, giving you the angle you'd need to make her scream for you.

You didn't even pause, before you started to thrust into her, curling your fingers slightly to increase her pleasure. You weren't kidding when you said you wanted to make her scream.

You watch as she wreaths and pants and calls out your name. You watch as her eyes slam closed as the pleasure of you inside crashes through her. You watch as she gets closer and closer to that peak, how she moves against you in her enjoyment of what you're doing to her.

And the world freeze frames. Just for a single moment, but for long enough that an arrow of excitement shoots through you at what's about to happen. Her body goes completely still, the only part of her that's moving is her inner muscles as they pulse around your fingers. It's like if she stays still the pleasure builds inside, until the dam bursts. And when it does the sight of her takes your breath away.

Her hips start a quivering, thrusting motion against your hands, her back arches, her head's thrown back, and her hands slam down against the counter, steadying her as she lets out a moan that's bordering a scream.

And maybe it's really cruel of you, because of the large amount of pleasure that's bursting through her body already, but you don't care. What she's just given you was so amazing, but it just wasn't enough.

You slide your fingers out of her and move them through her burning heat, searching out and finding that little bundle of burning nerves. She gasps hard when you find it and press down on it. She gasps even harder when you start to move your finger over it. Up and down, over and over again. Not pressing too hard, but hard enough for her to feel every move you make through every single inch of her.

She slaps a hand against the counter, in rhythm to what your doing, and turns her head just enough to catch your eyes from of the corners of her own.

"F.. ucking.. fucking.. evil.." she can barely get enough breath to gasp out the words, and even though she's saying that, you can tell by her eyes that she doesn't want you to stop.

So you don't. You even press down a little harder and move even faster. "Tell me you want me to stop."

"No." there is no stutter this time, she has not a single problem in getting that word to come out clear and forceful. This might be pleasure bordering pain, but she doesn't want you to stop touching her, she wants to feel you against her. Taking her, loving her, owning her.

Not a problem.

You have the urge to lean over and mark her back with your lips and teeth, exactly like you did to her neck not an hour ago, but her hips are starting to flutter against your hand in an uncoordinated way, and you want to watch her as she falls.

Her hips suddenly jerk into your hand, stilling there as she pulls such a huge gasp of air in. And this time it's not bordering a scream, it **is** a scream that comes tumbling out of her mouth. It makes the hairs all along your shoulders and neck prickle at the sound of it.

You've lost count of how many times you've been together over the last 24 hours, but you know, you'll never get tired of her body coming so damn hard for you. You'll never get tired of her sounds of pleasure, or the way her body moves when it's in the throws of nerve shattering pleasure.

You'll never get tired of knowing that it's you that's making her feel that way.


	18. Running From Reminders

**Chapter Eighteen: Running From Reminders**

_Then (Buffy)_

The ground beneath your feet trembles as you slam your feet into it, one after the other, over and over again as you run. It's four in the morning, and you know you should be wrapped up in bed, but you don't want to sleep tonight. You don't want to dream of her being there, only to wake up to reality the next day. A reality of her being gone.

So you patrolled as usual but from no where came the urge to run. To feel the wind as it swept past your face and the earth as it pounded beneath your feet. To watch as the world rushed past your face in blurred streamers of midnight colors.

You've been running for three hours now, and you realise you've run for this long because you're craving the burn of your muscles as they ripple beneath your clothes, of how your muscles strain at the force you're putting them under. And you're relishing the cool tears as they splash sideways across your face.

You know why you're running; you're trying to escape the waking nightmares. It's not bad enough that you see the face you're in love with, and missing so much it burns, every time you close your eyes to sleep. No. You're tortured by a memory of lost love every time you blink.

Eventually your adrenaline runs out and you stop, leaning your hands against a tree as that burn crawls out of your mouth. You open your lips and a hot wave of bile streams out and you spend the next few minutes hacking and gagging and trying to catch your breath.

It's been a week since your talk with Willow, and ever since she's treated you like you're gonna break. You wish you knew how to tell her that you're already broken.

Instead of going home, you go to another graveyard and find a couple of vampires who're skulking in the shadows.

And you tear into them, a kind of rage coming over you that devours you whole. This is the kind of rage that seeps into every inch of you, that gives you enough power to be able to rip one of the vampires heads off with your bare hands.

This is the rage of grief. Grief so deep it feels like a phantom limb, itching and irritating you until it burns in the back of your throat. Burns until you need to scream to release the pressure inside.

It's a good job the people of Sunnydale have a kind of blind spot when it comes to things like that.

"Little loud for this early in the morning." You're not in any way surprised to hear Spikes voice. He's become a constant companion on these all nighters you pull when you don't want to sleep.

He wasn't in love with Faith but in his own way he did kind of love her. They just seemed to click. They sparred and drank and smoked and you discovered they both had a fondness of playing practical jokes, most of which you were the butt of. One time they put fish paste in a jar of beef paste. You hate fish so when you took a bite of your sandwich you spat your mouthful across the room.

You miss her as the lover you never had, he misses her like the best friend he did have. If anyone can understand this depth of pain, it's him.

You walk over to him and sit down on the grave marker next to him. "Needed the release."

He takes a drag off a freshly lit cigarette before passing it to you. You're not a regular smoker, you're not addicted, but every now and then it's nice to just indulge. Usually on these nights when nothing else seems to give you even a momentary flash of release.

"Been out long?"

"Since it went dark." He nods and takes a drag of his own smoke. He knows what to do next, what you need from him. He gives it to you without a second thought.

"Jim Beam's staying at mine tonight. Wanna join pet?" you just stand up and nod. He understands your silence and isn't offended by it.

It isn't a regular thing, you going to Spikes and getting drunk until the sun starts to break. But he gets it; when nothing else seems to work this one thing might.

This is an indulgence that's just between you and Spike. It's about sharing the pain of a deep loss, and getting drunk enough to only be able to remember the good things.

To only be able to remember her face smiling, and not creased with the agony that were her last moments.


	19. Empty Space

**Chapter Nineteen: Empty Space**

_Then (Faith)_

You're pretty sure you should be able to see when the tunnel ends. You're stood underneath the vertical tunnel you're going to have to climb up so you can reach the hellmouth, but you can't see where it ends, not even a pin prick of light in the distance.

Without taking your eyes away from the climb that's about to come, you ask Skip a question who's answer you're hoping doesn't span for too much time.

"I'm not gonna like the answer am I?" you haven't even asked him the question yet, but you've spent enough time together over the last two days for him to be able to make a good guess.

"Not even slightly." You grimace as you shrug your jacket off, tossing it to the side and pull a pair of climbing gloves from your pocket. You slide them on as you look at him.

"How long?" he pulls a face that probably would have made you laugh, if it weren't for the topic of conversation.

"16 hours, give or take." You blink at him. Sixteen hours without a break? "There are ledges intermittently all the way up, so you can stop for a breather and a drink." Oh thank fuck for that.

"You gonna meet me at the top, or is this where we part ways?" he gives you a weak half smile and you wonder why you even bother asking questions you already know the answers too.

"It's been.. well not fun, but defiantly one hell of an experience." You pull him into a tight hug before letting him go and giving him such a thankful smile, for being there with you all the way, for being a friend in a place filled with things that wanna kill you. For being a friend, even if you're never gonna see him again.

"You're ever in Sunnydale, you look me up, ya hear?"

"Next vacation I get, I'm headed your way." You pat him on the shoulder as you turn to look at the wall you've gotta climb. Luckily it's got plenty of hand holds for you.

As you pick your spot to start climbing you have the urge to look back, but you don't. Knowing that it'll just be an empty space.


	20. Echos Of Her

**Chapter Twenty: Echoes Of Her**

_Now (Buffy)_

You're pretty sure that you shouldn't be able to **feel** Faiths heart beating from across the room. Or know what she's feeling unless she tells you. But you're sat here, very aware of the sound of her heart in your head. It's not front and center, more like in the background, like you have to concentrate on it to be sure of what she's feeling. It's kind of weird because it shouldn't be happening.

You're guessing this is the Awakening, but fuck if you're calling Willow to ask, when you know she'll demand all the details, and you think your face might set on fire in embarrassment when you have to tell her that you can feel that Faith's kind of horny too.

Not a bad thing to feel, but still. There's only so much you can tell your best friend.

"You really need to stop worrying." Faiths voice breaks you out of your thoughts as she brings the food to the table. She chuckles at your look of puzzlement. "The feeling emotions thing? It goes both ways."

"How the hell did you know I can feel your emotions?"

"Well, I reckon if I can feel yours, you can feel mine." Can't argue with that.

This is just freaky. It's actually a lot like you can read each others minds. Emotions are so close to what's being thought, you could make a pretty good guess. And it's not like you're trying to know her thoughts, they're just there. Lingering behind your own like the sun behind a cloud.

She gives you a half smile as she comes over to you and takes your hand to help you up. And that's when you feel it; a pulse of heat running up your wrist from where she's touching you. It ripples under your skin and makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.

What the hell?

You stare at each other for a few minutes, your hands still connected, still pulsing, still warm. Now that's defiantly new. And pretty cool.

Your mind suddenly runs away with the thought of exactly what you could do with something like that, backed by a wave of horniness from Faith. You can feel the smirk curling up the corners of your mouth.

She suddenly looks up at you, sharing your smirk.

"I completely agree." She starts to lead you towards the bedrooms.

There are defiantly some plus points to being able to feel each other.


	21. Almost

**Chapter Twenty One: Almost **

_Then_ (_Faith)_

You've been going for more than fifteen hours now and you're pretty sure you should be able to feel your fingers. Actually you're pretty sure they shouldn't be bleeding. Nor should the rock be so hot it's actually burning your palms through the gloves you're wearing.

But you're trying not to focus on the pain. You're trying to concentrate on what you're climbing towards; life. Freedom. The ability to sleep. Buffy.

You've tried so hard not to think about her too much. To not think about her smile or how her eyes twinkle when she's not properly awake yet, the very smell of her, or the way her skin flushes when she laughs so hard, because you don't want to get distracted.

Of how deeply you're in love with her.

You think that maybe when you get out of here you'll tell her. You're brave enough to fight through hell to get back to her, you should be brave enough to profess your love.

You reach another ledge and pull yourself onto it, taking a deep breath as you sit back. You ran out of water hours ago and your thirst is making your throat so damn dry, but you need to keep going regardless. You have to get out. You have to see her face again.

You have to be strong. For her.

Almost there.

It's like a crack in the floor above you and you can feel the air moving down towards you. It's not cool, it is after all California, but you're climbing out of hell. You're never going to think anywhere's too hot ever again. Nothing can compare to the dry, scorching heat of hell.

You grab on to the edge of the hellmouth and start to pull yourself out, slowly, biting back the moans at the pain coming from your hands.

Almost there.


	22. Home

**Chapter Twenty Two: Home**

_Then (Buffy)_

You're driving back from the store with Xander when you feel it. You're not quiet sure what it is, but it's strong, it makes the hairs on your forearms stand on end and quiver.

Your instincts are telling you to get out of the car, and they've never steered you wrong yet. You interrupt what Xander's saying, not even really listening to him anyway, and get him to stop and let you out, even though he doesn't get why.

When you're stood on the pavement in the twilight, you take a deep breath in, centring yourself, calming yourself so you can listen to what your body is telling you.

The high school.

You have no idea why, but you're instincts have never been wrong before, so without waiting too long, without trying to figure out what that tingling sensation is,

that's running all over your body, you start to jog in that general direction.

You can dimly hear Xanders car as it follows you down the roads to the school, but you're not really paying too much attention. You're mainly focused on that tingling feeling. It seems familiar somehow, but you can't place it, you can't put your finger on why.

You've been steadily increasing your speed, the closer you got to the school, so now you're flat out running, something inside of you pushing you to be there when it happens. You don't know what for exactly but you know it's important.

You hear Xander getting out of his car as you reach the school, but he doesn't bother calling out to you. He's seen this look on you before; determination that runs so deep it shows on every inch of your face. He just follows you, wondering why the hell you're even here to begin with.

You don't know either.

Not until you get into the ruins of the library and see it; a hand poking up through the crack in the floor that you know is the hellmouth.

And in an instant you know exactly what that feeling is; her. The person you thought you'd be without forever.

You rush over and grab her hand, pulling her out as she pushes herself up.

Xander gasps behind you when he sees who you're pulling out of hell. She drops heavily to the floor, pulling you down with her and she curls around your waist, holding on for dear life as tears start to run down her face, and steam rises from her at the sudden change in temperature.

"Tell me.." her voice hitches so she can't finish her sentence, but it's ok because you know exactly what she's trying to ask.

You curl your upper body over hers, holding her so tightly, as you whisper to her; "You're home."

You never thought you'd ever see Faith again. But seeing her, feeling her in your arms, hearing her breathe, you felt like you were looking into forever.


	23. Epilogue: Two Halves, One Whole

**Notes:** ok, last chap. Sorry it took so long and thanks for reading. Also? Review please.

**Epilogue**: **Two Halves, One Whole**

_Now__ (Buffy)_

The alley is dark, but it's ok because you can see perfectly. If you concentrate you can actually see a different angle of the alley, like a ghost image over what you're seeing. And you know that that's what Faith's seeing.

A few more things developed after you started to feel each others emotions. Like how you just have to concentrate to be able to tap into her senses. All of them. It was pretty weird at the beginning.

Neither of you knew how to handle the flashes you got of each other; the sight, the sound, the smell, the emotions, the feeling, the taste. All of it, so damn weird, so disorientating, especially as you didn't know how to control it all. It took you a while, lots of trial and error.

Though it did make for some very interesting times in the bedroom.

You never knew you tasted so sweet on her tongue.

The demon you've been waiting for enters the alley, not even noticing Faith stepping behind him as you step in front of him. You don't have to co-ordinate with Faith, like you realised when it started, knowing someone's emotions is almost like knowing their thoughts.

"Going somewhere?" the demon's startled by your presence as you step into the light from the streetlamp. He opens his mouth to speak, but the tip of a blade pricks the skin under his chin. "Meet my other half." You hear Faith chuckle at the private joke, because she really is your other half now.

"Make a move. Please." She pushes the tip of the blade in a little deeper as he squirms.

You can feel as the handle of the knife digs into Faiths palm and hear her heartbeat, steady in her chest. You can actually smell the crispness of her skin and relish in the feeling of her sense of right, as it rolls around your chest.

When she was gone you felt like half of you was missing without her there. Now she's back, now she's yours, your world is whole again, and so much more.

You didn't just get her back, you got your forever back too.

**End?**


End file.
